UNITED STATES OF AMERICA —Construction has begun on a replacement campus for Renton High School in Renton, Washington, marking the start of a multi-phase redevelopment of the existing school site. The new facility will occupy an expanded 33.3-acre campus and is scheduled to open in fall 2029.
The three-story school will provide approximately 350,000 square feet of space and accommodate up to 1,600 students. Its program will combine standard classrooms with dedicated environments for Career and Technical Education, science, art and elective subjects. The development will also provide health services, special services, community areas, a library, cafeteria, commons and gymnasiums.
Outdoor infrastructure is included in the development, with a lighted baseball and softball field and a practice field for football and soccer. The broader campus configuration is intended to consolidate academic, student-support and athletic functions within the replacement facility.
Construction is being sequenced to allow the current high school to remain occupied while work progresses. Most of the existing school buildings are expected to be demolished later in the program, while the original portion dating from the 1930s and the IKEA Performing Arts Center will remain. This phased approach allows the district to maintain school operations during the transition to the new campus.
The development is part of Renton School District’s wider capital investment program, supported by a $676 million school construction and improvement bond approved by voters in November 2022. Funding for the program provides a mechanism for major modernization and replacement projects across district facilities, including the Renton High School redevelopment.
The project has implications for the regional construction and education infrastructure markets, creating work across general construction, architecture, structural engineering, civil and landscape services, mechanical systems and electrical infrastructure. BRIC Architecture, PCS Structural Solutions, AHBL Civil and Landscape, Metrix CMTA and GFT Electrical are participating in the project team.
For Skanska, the project adds a large institutional construction program to its Pacific Northwest portfolio. For Renton School District, the redevelopment represents a long-term investment in K-12 infrastructure, while students, staff and the surrounding community are expected to transition to the new campus once construction is completed in 2029.
